～たり～たりする

The ～たり～たりする structure is used to list examples of actions or states, often to describe doing various things, repeating actions, or alternating between states. It is used to express variety, or a sequence of events without emphasizing strict order.

• Listing examples of actions: Indicates that the speaker did various actions (among others). The list is inexhaustive, and there may be other actions that were left out.

  しゅうまつ週末はえいが映画をみたり見たり、ほん本をよんだり読んだりします。

  On weekends, I watch movies, read books, and so on.

• Alternating or repeated actions: Describes actions or states that occur alternately or repeatedly.

  てんき天気がよくなったり良くなったりわるくなったり悪くなったりします。

  The weather keeps getting better and worse.

Notes

• The structure emphasizes that the actions listed are just examples; other actions or states may also occur.
• The final する can be conjugated into various forms (to indicate the tense, aspect, and politeness level).
  りょこう旅行ちゅう中はしゃしんをとったり写真を撮ったり、おいしい美味しいものをたべたり食べたりしました。

  During the trip, I took photos and ate delicious food.
  かれ彼はべんきょう勉強したりしない。

  He doesn’t do things like studying.
• The (unconjugated) final する is optional in casual speech, but including it makes the sentence complete.
  しゅうまつ週末はえいが映画をみたり見たり、ほん本をよんだり読んだり。

  On weekends, I do things like watching movies and reading books.
• Only one verb in ～たり form can also be used. This just means "to do things like ~" with only one example. It also works the same with more than two verbs.
  きのう昨日はおんがく音楽をきいたり聴いたりしました。

  Yesterday I listened to music (among other things).